Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire took a lot of risks in adding new mechanics, and Game Freak succeeded. Introducing double battles, contests, and having a battle tower (Battle Frontier in Emerald) offered challenges to fans in the post-game. One of the best aspects the third generation games brought are the designs for the Pokémon and the characters. The three starters, who are at first cute, turn into fierce and awesome battlers. Most of the legendary Pokémon in this generation are intimidating yet memorable, ranging from Deoxys to Rayquaza. The characters ranging from the player character to the gym leaders have familiar aesthetics to relate to the majority of Pokémon’s fanbase.

There are lots of fan art that brought tons of variety to the Pokémon and human characters, and the results are spectacular. Once the remakes, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, arrived in 2014, the nostalgia came back for fans who grew up with the original games from 2003 and the fan art expanded greatly. There were new concepts of fan art thanks to Mega Evolution and new characters to recreate in the artists’ style.

The third generation games are memorable for adding new mechanics that would become staples in future Pokémon games and the series wouldn’t be the same without them. Other than that, we would not have these amazing drawings fans all over the world made to show their love for these games.

Here's a look at twenty-five pieces of awesome fan art featuring Pokémon characters from the third generation!

25 Unique Gym Leaders

via pixiv.net

The gym leaders from the Hoenn region are known for having simple and casual designs, and that helps them stand out compared to the other generations of Pokémon gym leaders. From Pixiv, this cute yet epic fan art done by Yukishita does a lovely job.

The gym leaders, alongside Brendan, May, and Wally, are distinctive and the art style fits the characters perfectly. Seeing as how this fan art was done way before the remakes were confirmed, this is a nice gem on the internet.

24 Appearances Are Deceiving

via: pinkish-sasa.deviantart.com

These four sisters named Dana, Nita, Evelyn, and Morgan are gorgeous and captivating, but they provide a tough challenge. They debuted in the Pokémon X & Y, but they were originally from Hoenn, and in the Ruby & Sapphire remakes, they returned.

Pinkish-Sasa from deviantART makes the colors in this picture soft but very effective. The sisters are captured magnificently with their personalities shown from their expressions. While they are beautiful, they are ruthless in a Pokémon battle.

23 Wish Maker

via: pixiv.net

Jirachi is an adorable legendary Pokémon that has the ability to grant wishes, and if you have seen the movie Jirachi Wish Maker, you can’t help but think it’s so precious.

While Jirachi is cute, opening its third eye is spooky.

Thankfully, this beautiful art focuses on Jirachi being adorable. Maiko from Pixiv created this piece and they have done a great job in making Jirachi look so cute. The background is cosmetic and magical as well, fitting the theme of Jirachi.

22 Half Of The Eon Duo

via: ceavit.deviantart.com

Latias is an endearing part of the Eon duo alongside her brother Latios. She seems gentle at a first glance, but Latias can be a tough threat when it mega evolves. What makes this fan art remarkable is that it is actually an improvement from five years ago when the picture was uploaded.

Ceavit from deviantART gave the fandom their take on the legendary Pokémon and the art style is beyond gorgeous. The clouds compliment Latias as it is a soaring Dragon and Psychic-type Pokémon, and Latias herself can be relied on as a flier in the remakes.

21 Beloved Starter

via: sa-dui.deviantart.com

Blaziken was the first final evolved starter from the Hoenn games to receive a Mega Evolution. It has always been a popular Pokémon and it is incredibly strong. Sa-Dui from deviantART used their fantastic artistic talents to bring this memorable Pokémon to life.

Once Blaziken mega evolves, it becomes completely broken.

The thought of having an overpowered Pokémon like Blaziken seems too good to be true, but there is no denying how good it is in battle despite its many weaknesses. While other starters from each generation are memorable in their own way, Blaziken will always be one of the best final evolved starters of all time.

20 Rocky Golem

via: masae.deviantart.com

The Golems from Ruby & Sapphire offered clever puzzles to get them, and once we encountered them, we are greeted with epic battle music. This cool picture came from deviantART’s Masae, who made Regirock look solid and tremendous.

Regirock resides in the Desert Ruins and its puzzle is different depending on which version you are playing. It is gifted with sky-high defense, but its other stats are lacking for a legendary Pokémon. Regardless, it is an intriguing Pokémon in the third generation.

19 Chilling Golem

via: butt-berry.tumblr.com

The second of the legendary titans, Regice does lack compared to the others due to its weaknesses to common types like Fire, Fighting, and Rock, but at least it has a cool sounding cry.

It is known for having the highest special defense out of every legendary Pokémon.

Butt-Berry from Tumblr made this artwork, and boy does the atmosphere give off a subtle, but chilling vibe. It is nice to see how Regice is in a completely different location compared to its original one from the games, giving it a more appropriate place to reside in.

18 Iron Golem

via: shawnnl.deviantart.com

The last of the golems, Registeel is epic in its own right, but it did leave some controversy due to its original sprite. It had to be changed in the European versions, though it still remains an awesome legendary Pokémon.

This was made by ShawnnL from deviantART, who made other fantastic pieces of fan art for Pokémon. His rendition of Registeel is one of the best on the internet, and it makes the Steel-type legendary a menacing but worthy opponent.

17 Out Of This World

via: abelvera.deviantart.com

Deoxys is a Pokémon that has interesting lore, being formed by a mutation of a virus from space. It can change into three different forms that specialize in its stats, giving it great variety in whatever way the player chooses.

AbelVera from deviantART created this creepy, yet very detailed drawing that gives us the shivers while also taking inspiration from when the player first encounters Deoxys in the remakes. It is also an incredibly tough Pokémon to catch too, being at level 80.

16 Elegant Sea Serpent

via: turnipberry.deviantart.com

Milotic is considered to be the most beautiful Pokémon of all time, at least according to some Pokédex entries. It is absolutely gorgeous and it really has an enchanting design despite being a simple sea serpent.

On deviantART, TurnipBerry created this fan art and the atmosphere is breathtaking. While the location this Milotic is at might be in Mt. Coronet from the Sinnoh region, this is a breathtaking depiction of the Tender Pokémon.

15 Contest Time!

via: greyradian.deviantart.com

Contests might seem like a strange idea when it was first implanted in Ruby & Sapphire, but it is rather fun and tricky like competitive battling. There is a strategy involved that is based around the type of moves a Pokémon has, and it is important to have a move set that ties to a specific category, like Beauty or Cleverness.

GreyRadian from deviantART made an incredibly cutesy drawing of the player characters and other Pokémon, including a couple of Cosplay Pikachus.

14 Anything But Bad

via: furaffinity.net

Absol is one of the standout Pokémon due to its strange concept. It is known as the Disaster Pokémon due to supposedly being responsible for bringing danger to those who encounter it, when really, it is there to warn the people of upcoming peril.

SapphyNhoa from FurAffinity created this beautiful masterpiece with Absol in its Mega Evolution. Not a lot has changed appearance wise, but Absol does have what resembles white wings, acting as a guardian angel of some sort.

13 Glamorous Coordinator

via: pixiv.net

The remakes are incredibly faithful to their original counterparts but adding in new things related to the current generation help add more flair. Since Pokémon Contests were originally from the third generation, there were new additions to that part of the gameplay.

Nari from Pixiv made this jaw-dropping picture of Lisia from the remakes, looking stunning with her partner Altaria. She also happens to be the niece of Wallace, the last gym leader in the Hoenn region!

12 Steampunk Twist

via: kenpan.deviantart.com

There are a lot of things that the third generation did different compared to the first two. In Ruby, Sapphire, and their remakes, the player character has an actual father playing a significant role as Petalburg’s gym leader. Norman is a Normal-type gym leader, as his name takes on a pun.

From deviantART, KenPan brought in a lot of imagination in creating Norman in a steampunk getup. It is a cool redesign and Norman looks great.

11 The Alpha And The Omega

via: kawacy.deviantart.com

Before Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire were confirmed, there was a meme going around that whenever there is a reference of anything Hoenn related, someone will comment “Gen 3 confirmed,” or something related to that phrase. Well, the remakes would eventually be announced, and Pokémon fans were ecstatic.

The talented Kawacy from deviantART created this fantastic piece featuring the Ruby & Sapphire mascots Groudon and Kyogre with Brendan and May. The best detail about this artwork is how Brendan and May have the omega and alpha symbols on their eyes respectively.

10 Spooky Sea Basin

via: the-blue-wind.deviantart.com

Kyogre is a spooky sea creature in the Pokémon world. It can expand oceans and is part of the weather trio alongside its rival Groudon and Rayquaza. The-Blue-Wind from deviantART did a fantastic job in painting the Sea Basin Pokémon.

The scope of this legendary Pokémon is huge and from the bottom right, we can see Brendan and Swampert about to take on Kyogre. The thought of an epic battle against Kyogre would make for great animation, and this was before Primal Kyogre came into play!

9 Gang Leader Of Land

via: pixiv.net

For the first time in Pokémon, there were two villainous organizations to take on, and depending on which version you get, you are thwarting the plans of Team Magma or Aqua. In Pokémon Ruby, Maxie is the main antagonist and leader of Team Magma.

His goal is to expand the land for more people to live on.

Pixiv’s Ukima did an amazing job with the rendition of Maxie, who is smug and confident that his plans to expand land will come into fruition.

8 Gang Leader Of Sea

via: pixiv.net

Team Aqua’s leader Archie has an opposite goal compared to his archrival Maxie. He wants to expand the seas to provide for more Pokémon to have better lives. This is a more understandable goal if there weren’t lots of water to begin with in the Hoenn region.

Ukima is back with their amazing version of Archie, and he looks stunning, but intimidating at the same time. The scenery looks cool and helps blend in with the main blue color Team Aqua is associated with.

7 Continental Giant

via: ink-leviathan.deviantart.com

Groudon being the Continent Pokémon means that it has to be, well, gigantic, right? In context, that’s the case, but it being only eleven feet tall might not help Groudon look intimidating. Regardless of the Pokédex’s crazy facts, this Ground-type Pokémon is still awesome and threatening.

Ink-Leviathan gave an epic version of Primal Groudon that would literally scare us if we were to encounter the Continent Pokémon in real life. The lava just adds how spooky Groudon is and this art is just too good for words.

6 Fateful Encounter

via: sa-dui.deviantart.com

In the opening cutscene from Ruby & Sapphire, we get a glimpse of one of the legendary Pokémon that is exclusive in either game. Sa-Dui makes a return on this list with their fan art of May and her Torchic riding a bike and encountering Latios, who is exclusive to Pokémon Ruby.

It was an exhilarating event to go through, and it was just the opening scene!

Like with Latias in Sapphire, seeing the Eon duo in the beginning of the game gave fans hype to play the games.